“The first half was hard for us and we did not play well”, Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino said. They were smarter than us.
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“Hugo got injured and that had a big impact on us”.
As well as Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the players I am most looking forward to seeing in the Premier League this season.
Hull City caretaker manager Mike Phelan is braced for the completion of a club takeover this week, saying it could be a “big week” for the club. Lakcing resources, he made no substitutions.
And Hull, for whom Curtis Davies came close early on with a header from Snodgrass’ corner, made him pay in the dying seconds of the opening period. New signings Luis Hernandez and Ahmed Musa both started. Vardy met the rebound with a shot that was charged down and Mahrez followed up with a short run and a curling drive that flew wide of the post.
Mahrez came close to equalising for a second time with a fine free-kick, while substitute Shinji Okazaki also looked unsafe on a number of occasions, but Hull deserved their remarkable win.
Adama Diomande gives Hull the lead in fine fashion Kasper Schmeichel is unable to keep the ball out Adama Diomande celebrates with his teammate Abel Hernandez 1.
Guardiola’s City career got off to a ideal start when Sergio Aguero fired home a fourth-minute penalty after Patrick van Aanholt had brought down Raheem Sterling.
Robert Snodgrass drove in the victor 12 minutes into the second half as a team in crisis on and off the pitch became the first to beat the defending English champions on opening day since Manchester United defeated Arsenal in 1989. Normally cool customers failed to clear and Snodgrass drove the ball into the bottom corner to trigger wild celebrations.
Hull goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic denied Christian Fuchs shortly before the interval, with the defender popping up inside the area after a neat one-two with Musa. “We tried to do our best, our effort was incredible but it was individual, not as a team”. “Our effort was fantastic but it was individual, not as a team”, he said.
“We tried to win but sometimes it’s not possible”, Ranieri added.
Last season, Leicester did that better than any other team, however the Foxes produced an entirely unimpressive performance at the KCOM Stadium, whereby as well as being defensively vulnerable, they were guilty of wasteful finishing.
Bruce was highly frustrated by the club’s ponderous approach to recruitment before walking out and they remain the only top-flight side who have yet to sign a senior player.
By the time the match entered its closing stages, the Hull fans were singing “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” and chanting “We are top of the league”.
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Despite a whole host of substitutions, Claudio Ranieri’s men couldn’t break down a stubborn Hull defence and become the first defending Premier League champions to lose their first game of the following season.
